Many sports, including, but not limited to, football, soccer and rugby can pose serious health risks to the players. For example, a major concern facing football players today is the risk of concussive head injuries, which can lead to a variety of dangerous medical conditions. In order to reduce the occurrence of these types of injuries, teams are limiting contact during practices. In place of tackling each other during practice, most teams now use tackling drills which simplify tackling and break it into multiple steps which can be safely practiced. Limiting contact has been successful at reducing injuries during practice, but it has left no way to for players to practice tackling in a realistic game-relevant scenario. This is because current drills focus on pursuing a player and not finishing the tackle to the ground, or using a padded target, known as a tackling dummy, instead of a live player. Tackling dummies are used by almost all football teams but do not simulate a realistic tackle because they are static objects whereas an opposing player moves dynamically. There are some products on the market today that attempt to mobilize the tackling dummy; however, none of them accurately simulate the motion of a live player.
Although various methods to provide for increased safety have been attempted, these devices have not effectively protected athletes while simulating the motion of a live player. Making tackling safer through tackling suits or a padded practice area does not eliminate player-to-player contact and therefore does not adequately reduce injury risks. Hit shields (small, player-held pads) do not allow players to finish a tackle to the ground. Designing new drills using existing static dummies is not effective at producing unpredictable motion and does not create a game-like scenario. Shoulder tag, or “thud pace,” is not viable because, like hit shields, it neither eliminates player-to-player contact or creates a realistic game-like scenario.
In order to prevent injuries while allowing players to practice various movements (including, but not limited to, tackling, shooting and passing) without person-to-person contact or interaction, sports teams (including but not limited to, football, soccer and rugby teams) are in need of a dynamic and mobile device which replicates or simulates player motion as realistically as possible. With respect to football, an effective solution will allow teams to safely integrate the initiation, execution and finish of the movement, i.e., a tackle.
It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a device or system which safely allows players to practice proper form in a game-relevant scenario. It would also be beneficial to provide a device or system which is a safe alternative to live play and which increases player safety and reduces the incidence of injuries while at the same time reinforcing proper form.